Picked up my two race boards today from Sunstate Hobie. A 12'6''*26.5'' raw allrounder and a 14'*24'' raw flat water. Did a quick bop session this arvo on the 12 and absolutly loved it!!! so smooth through the water

Heres a few pics, will give a real review once i get used to the feel.

This is the 12'6'', has heaps of volume which im stoked about. cant wait to downwind it!!

They look pretty good.

What do you think of the pretty soft rails are the rear?

and the 14' flat water machine!!!!!! not much volume which is an interesting concept

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SSSimon said...
They look pretty good.

What do you think of the pretty soft rails are the rear?

Ive only paddled it once as yet but i think it aids in how smooth this board is to paddle. it reminds me of DC's boards. Really fun to surf and just feels smooth!!

Crazy good looking boards Raz,
Hobie has gone all out with a killer design.
Hobie's back!!!!!!!!!

Awesome, Can't wait for the review.

Are these standard production boards? I thought I had read somewhere you can order them to the width you like. Do you know anything about that?

Onya Ryan, both look awesome and worth the wait you had.
Can't wait to have a paddle, especially on the 14 with the low rocker, volume, and rounded bottom.
Hope to see you at the lake.
KJ

Reminds me of a girl I know who couldn't get into the Crown Casino because she was wearing fishnet stockings.

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Snowie said...
Reminds me of a girl I know who couldn't get into the Crown Casino because she was wearing fishnet stockings.

That's because every second the punters are distracted costs the Casino $thousands!

a few from my first session on the 12 this morning

good looking sticks. the 14' looks like a missile.. a bit like an LE but flatter!!

what do they weigh?

What do they cost?

DJ

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DavidJohn said...
What do they cost?

DJ

The 14 flat rrp is $2419
The 12 race rrp is $2325

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PeterP said...
what do they weigh?

Just weighed the 14 in at 10.4 kg

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RJK said...

PeterP said...
what do they weigh?

Just weighed the 14 in at 10.4 kg

That's a pretty light 14' er.

DJ

Great looking new Hobie race boards

Really nice looking boards but is there an idea behind the change of full carbon to the fishnetstocking look?
To me this looks like less stiff and durable as full carbon wrap up.

Is this a spono /discount for comment thing; or did you just drop close to 5 grand on 2 pieces of foam?

I love the fishnet look. . . Could find a place to slip a tenner into though?

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JustCruising said...
Awesome, Can't wait for the review.

Are these standard production boards? I thought I had read somewhere you can order them to the width you like. Do you know anything about that?

i heard that initially as well, but later found out that they have a stock width but you can also order a custom width. construction is identicle

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Jeroensurf said...
Really nice looking boards but is there an idea behind the change of full carbon to the fishnetstocking look?
To me this looks like less stiff and durable as full carbon wrap up.

not sure but my reasoning would be that you would use the carbon to stiffen the board however not using it on the whole board allows a higher impact resistance (due to the glass allowing the board to flex upon impact) and also keeping the cost down.

but thats just my thinking

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joeyjojo said...
Is this a spono /discount for comment thing; or did you just drop close to 5 grand on 2 pieces of foam?

not at all.

Firstly i will say that as a full time uni student i work every saturday (when there are no races on) at sunstate hobie who primarily do fishing kayaks and cats. however they just got a handfull of the latest standups in.

As this is the board talk and reviews forum and because i myself have never seen any info on these boards, i thought a few people might like to see them as they are different to most boards. Technically they are shop demos however i am paying them off as i like to own the gear i use so i dont feel so bad when i ding it....

My employers dont even know what seabreeze is, and as it represents such a tiny portion of the standup comunity (mainly just a few old guys that winge and squabble between themselves) , giving me 5K in boards for a few comments that a handful of people see would be the worst business move one could employ.

And 5K on two pieces of foam, take a look at the pricing of some other brands..... like DJ said, these are priced pretty well.

And yes obviously as i am staff i will receive some sort of discount from the full rrp (as every staff in any decent company would receive)

a bit more durability isnt a bad thing for most racers although it is a bit different route as other brands like Fanatic, Naish Starboard go, that made me wonder.
Thanx for the comments and review. What some people might forgotten is that also people that sell stuff in this sport started doing that most of all because they love doing the sport as well.

Having just competed in the Noosa festival of surfing BOP I thought it would be appropriate to give my initial review of the 12'6'' race raw.

Aesthetically the board looks 100%, awesome looking shape and awesome construction image. Not painting a race board is a stroke of generous as they receive a beating when raced and any dings can be repaired without the troubles of a colour match. The board is light without compromising strength which is an added bonus of the construction method and the handle is well balanced in the centre.

The high volume nose and mid body make this board feel fantastic under my 92KGS. Although I've only done BOPs on this board to date, I can't wait to get it out in a downwind session as I'm sure it will be fast and more importantly fun.

The nose shape is unreal!!! It makes the board feel super smooth through the water and when it comes to a burying the nose while dropping a wave, it doesn't continue to bury; it rises back up straight (no slips or deviations). Aiding this ability is the thinned volume in the tail. Problems I've encountered with wide tailed boards in the past included not being able to bury the tail volume in order to bring the nose up. This board surfs perfectly from the tail. I did find in the bop however I was having trouble trimming the board from the centre as I would keep catching a rail. This may be lack of skill/practice on the board as I had only 2 brief sessions on it before the race.

I did find on the outward leg of the bop I was making significant ground as the board would push through the waves with ease and continue their glide.
Although my ability is the intermediate level I found that 26.5'' wide was comfortable. It took the first lap to iron out any wobbles or rolls whilst paddling but I soon had the board dialled and manage to snag 10th while still having a ball!! Unfortunately I snapped my paddle halfway through the race but thankfully dogman came to the rescue with a spare enabling me to finish.

So that's it, any questions don't hesitate to ask and if anyone ever comes to the kawana lake timetrial be sure to have a paddle of it.

Hi RJK

I see that Hobie has two versions of the 12'6" and wonder if you have been able to compare them. I am guessing that the difference is in the rocker between the Race Flat Water (less rocker) and the one you have. I want to do mainly flat water but would like to be able to paddle in rough water as well.

If anyone else has a comparison please chime in.

I weigh about 135 lbs so I am looking for a primarily flat water board that is lower in volume. Anyone who is lighter tried this board?

thanks, John

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surfjohn said...
Hi RJK

I see that Hobie has two versions of the 12'6" and wonder if you have been able to compare them. I am guessing that the difference is in the rocker between the Race Flat Water (less rocker) and the one you have. I want to do mainly flat water but would like to be able to paddle in rough water as well.

If anyone else has a comparison please chime in.

I weigh about 135 lbs so I am looking for a primarily flat water board that is lower in volume. Anyone who is lighter tried this board?

thanks, John

the 14 is the flat race version and the 12 is the allrounder (the ones i have that is). you can get either version in either length. the 14 is very very low volume. if your just after a flat water board the 14 is great. in chop it handles well in that the nose peirces the chop without any negative feedback. however you do generate large volumes of water over the deck (but in flat water chop this may actually be faster). i do doubt the 14s capabilties as a downwind board though. the alround shape is still very fast but definatly a more versitile shape.

cheers ryan